. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/670 
30 March 2006 
 
 (06-1460) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   French 
 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPS AGREEMENT 
 
Information for the Workshop on 31 March 2006  
 
Communication from Benin 
 
  The following communication, received on 29 Marc h 2006, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Benin. 
 
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 1. In preparation for the Workshop on the Implementation of the SPS Agreement, Members 
were invited to provide information about their experiences relating to the issues to be discussed. 
Point 1:  Participation in SPS Committee meetings
 
 
2. Benin has not participated in any SPS Committe e meetings.  Capital-based experts should 
participate.  Having never partic ipated, our only means of receiving information are the sub-regional 
training workshops organized by the WTO in our sub-region. 
Point 2:  National SPS Committee  
 
3. Benin does not yet have a national SPS committee.  It has only a SPS enquiry point within the 
Plant Protection Unit of the Department of Agriculture, which was set up in 2005.  This enquiry point could be strengthened. 
4. There are very few food product exporters in Benin.  Only certain fish (shrimps and 
cuttlefish) products and cashew nuts are formally expo rted.  Special efforts are currently being made 
not only to obtain approval for these products, but to  include pineapple and shea butter on the list of 
exports.  Exporters of these products can find ou t about trading partners' new SPS requirements by 
contacting the Directorate of Food and Applied Nutrition (DANA), which is the permanent secretariat 
of the National Codex Alimentarius Committee. 
5. The National Codex Alimentarius Committe e, which encompasses seven ministries 
(including the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock a nd Fisheries, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry 
of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research) as well as the 
Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Associa tion of Agri-Food Processing Enterprises, and the 
Consumers' Association, could be strengthened so that stakeholders are informed of new 
SPS requirements. G/SPS/GEN/670 
Page 2  
 
  6. In the future national SPS committee, Governme nt representatives and economic operators in 
the agri-food processing industry who already form  part of the National Codex Alimentarius 
Committee, the OIE and the IPPC, will exchange views. 
7. The institutionalization of periodic meetings  and training courses, and the setting up of a 
documentation centre could promote effective and sustainable interaction. 
8. Groups outside of capital which are members of  the National Codex Alimentarius Committee 
(agri-food processing enterprises of the Chamber of  Industry and Commerce, and the Consumers' 
Association) will be kept up to date on SPS requirements. 
Point 3:  National planning on how to implement the SPS Agreement
 
 9. In Benin, the implementation of the SPS Agre ement is the responsibility of the following 
Departments: 
 - Department of Food and Applied Nutrition (DANA) for all foods of plant or animal 
origin; 
 
 - Department of Fisheries; 
  - Department of Agriculture (Plant Protection Unit);  and   - Department of Quality and Packag ing Promotion for Agricultural Products. 
 
10. The activities of these various structures are nor mally coordinated within the National Codex 
Alimentarius Committee;  however, in 2005, an enqui ry point was set up within the Plant Protection 
Unit of the Department of Agriculture. 
11. All in all, specific planning is needed on how to implement the SPS Agreement, as no 
planning of this sort has yet taken place. 
Point 4:  Identification of material and human needs
 
 
12. In Benin, the various institutions involved in food quality identify separately their technical 
assistance and material resource needs. 
13. A survey could be carried out among agri-f ood processing enterprises in order to identify 
priority areas for technical assistance, as irregular practices are often used to misdirect assistance. 
14. In order to avoid any duplication of donor efforts, formal and informal surveys and 
consultations must take place before any decisions are made. 
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